Primeval Fic: Where And When Am I?
Sep. 23rd, 2014 01:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nietieTitle: Where And When Am I?
Word Count: 1,883
Rating: 12
Genre: gen
Characters: Stephen
Disclaimer: Not mine, no money made. Primeval and its characters belong to Impossible Pictures
Author Notes: I had this idea in my head for a long time. Eventually and luckily PriWriMo at Primeval Denial made me write AND finish it. I hope you enjoy reading it.
Thanks to the wonderful ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
fredbassett for the beta! All remaining mistakes are mine.
He told Connor not to worry.
It would be a quick and simple mission. Just follow the animal tracks through the anomaly to see if an animal of their timeline had gone on an adventure on the other side.
The anomaly was getting a bit weaker, but Stephen estimated he had enough time.
He removed his keys and mobile phone, knowing the latter wouldn't be of any use where he was going and then he stepped through the sparkling lights.
It was night time on the other side and apart from the light coming from the anomaly, it was pitch black.
Stephen stumbled and lost his footing. He started tumbling down a slope, not being able to stop the fall.
Then he hit his head.
…
He woke up, not knowing how long he'd been unconscious.
It was pitch black. He couldn't see the anomaly. Hopefully it hadn't closed.
He tried to get up and stumbled around.
Damn, he'd lost his gun, probably during the fall.
Suddenly he heard a hissing sound and he felt a sharp pain in his left lower leg.
What the hell was that?
It hurt!
He felt weak and he had to sit down again. Then he heard the hissing sound again, followed by a thump and a rustling nearby.
Somebody started talking in a language he didn't understand.
Hands touched him, going to his lower leg.
He was too confused to say or do anything.
The person rolled up the left leg of his trousers and touched the spot that hurt the most.
Stephen was nauseous and he started perspiring.
He suddenly felt lips on his legs and then sucking.
He lay down, closing his eyes and felt himself slipping away.
What was happening to him?
He was being lifted up. He tried to walk.
The person carrying him, spoke to him, but Stephen still couldn't understand what was being said.
It was definitely a man, but both country AND timeline were unknown to him.
Where were they going? He still couldn't see a thing.
He felt sick, knowing he had to throw up.
He retched.
The man stroked his back, then started directing him upwards.
He vaguely realised he had to climb a ladder.
A ladder?
Where was he?
He was too tired to ask. He just wanted to lie down, close his eyes, and sleep.
As if the man could read his mind Stephen was lowered onto something that felt like a blanket.
The man spoke softly to him and gave him some water.
Then, finally, Stephen was allowed to close his eyes.
….
He heard birds chirping.
A pleasant sound.
An innocent sound.
He opened his eyes.
He was in a room made of red clay, barren except for the blankets he was lying on.
There was a small window, but it was up high, so he wasn't able to look through it from his position.
It didn't contain glass.
He saw that it was daylight, though.
He heard more sounds, people talking and laughing.
A blanket was covering him.
He felt that he wasn't wearing his trousers any more and that there was something on his left leg.
He looked under the blanket. He was wearing his T-shirt and boxer shorts. Trousers, shoes and socks were gone. There was some sort of bandage on his left leg.
He still felt the wound throbbing. His head hurt too. Then he heard a sound in the room.
A man had entered. Stephen estimated him to be around 25. He had raven black hair, brown eyes and was only dressed in a loincloth.
When Stephen looked at him, the man flinched for a second.
In his hands he held a small bowl made of reddish brown clay. He knelt next to Stephen and handed him the bowl.
It was filled with refreshing water.
"Thank you," Stephen said, after he'd drank a bit.
The man said something in a language Stephen couldn't understand. He kept staring at Stephen's eyes.
The man pointed at his own eyes and again said something.
Stephen realised the man had to be talking about the colour. He'd probably never seen a person with blue eyes.
He pointed at himself and said:" Stephen". Then he pointed at the man. "What is your name?"
"Tokori," the man answered and smiled and then he tried to pronounce Stephen's name.
He touched Stephen's leg.
"Taaho." Whilst saying that, he made a movement with his hand.
"Snake," Stephen mumbled. "Yes, I thought it must have been a snake….. Thank you. Thank you for saving me." He knew Tokori wouldn't understand him, but he was very grateful for what the man had done.
He tried to sit up a bit more, but it made the room spin.
He felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"I guess it's not a good idea to get up yet," he said, although he knew Tokori wouldn't be able to understand him.
He drifted off again.
When he woke up, he heard shuffling and sniggering.
There were children in the room, looking at him curiously. They shrieked when he looked at them and ran off.
Then Tokori came back into the room, handing him a bowl of some kind of broth. It was delicious.
"Thank you, you're very kind," Stephen said. "I'm feeling much stronger now. Maybe I can get up and walk a bit."
Tokori must have noticed Stephen making an attempt to get up, because he helped him.
Not bad. Stephen felt a bit wobbly, but every step he took made him stronger.
Tokori handed Stephen the trousers he had been wearing when he’d come through the anomaly. One leg was torn, but they were still suitable to wear.
He was ready to find out where he was and in what timeline.
They both left the room, Tokori still supporting him.
Stephen noticed that several rooms were connected. Most of them were empty, besides some blankets and pottery.
Tokori said something and lead him to a room with a man and a woman, sitting on the floor. The woman was holding a baby.
They stared at Stephen, with a mix of awe and fear on their faces.
Tokori gestured at the baby and then at a spot in the room that looked as if the earth on the floor had been turned and flattened again.
He helped Stephen to kneel next to the people.
"Hello," Stephen said, not knowing what else to say. He looked at the baby, a beautiful girl with long, black hair and the darkest brown eyes he'd ever seen.
The baby gurgled and then smiled at him.
He couldn't help himself and touched the baby's head.
The parents starting smiling too.
Then they gestured at the spot, like Tokori had done, and then back at the baby. The man went to the spot, made a cradling movement with his arms and then he made a gesture like putting the baby on the floor.
Oh my god! Did he mean a baby had died and was buried there?
"I'm so sorry," Stephen whispered, once again touching the little girl. "I hope this baby will be healthy and will have a long life."
Not knowing what else to say he got up and left the room with Tokori.
They came to a doorway that would lead them outside.
To his surprise Stephen saw several ladders going down. So he had not been mistaken about ladders when he was brought here.
They climbed down, with Stephen still feeling a bit weak.
When they were down, he looked up to the construction that Tokori and his people called their home.
He gasped.
He recognised the place!
He had been here before, in a different timeline, when he was a student and had been traveling around.
If he was not mistaken this was Arizona in the United States. And this…. this was Montezuma Castle, a set of cliff dwellings that was a national monument in his timeline.
If he remembered correctly, the dwellings had been built and used by the Sinagua people between approximately 1100 and 1425 AD. They had built the structure up a sheer limestone cliff, inside a natural alcove.
It looked exactly like it had when he had visited the site as a student. And it also explained the snake bite, because there had been several signs warning the visitors of the numerous rattlesnakes inhabiting that area.
He also remembered some Sinagua paintings at the site only scientists and their students were allowed to visit. One of the paintings had been exceptionally interesting, because it roughly showed a man with blue beams coming from his eyes. Somehow Stephen had the feeling that this man was him.
"Please, I have to go back to the spot where you found me," Stephen asked Tokori, hoping the man somehow would understand him, even if it was because of the desperation in his voice.
He knelt down and drew a rude picture of an anomaly in the sand.
Stephen made the snake movement with his hand and then pointed away from the cliff dwellings.
Tokori said something and nodded. He took Stephen's hand and guided him over a rocky path.
They walked for about ten minutes when Tokori stopped. He pointed towards a slope covered with bushes and a few trees. He made a fluttering movement with his hands.
Stephen hoped he meant sparkles, like an anomaly.
He gazed upward, looking for the lights. He did see some shimmering, but it could well be the sunlight shining through the trees.
"Please, help me to get up there," Stephen asked and he started climbing the slope.
Tokori kept holding his hand and together they made it to the top.
No anomaly. Just the warm sunlight on their heads.
He sat down, exhausted. His leg and his head were throbbing.
Tokori knelt next to him, looking at him intently. The young man took Stephen's face in his hand and said something.
It sounded reassuring. The man was a blessing.
"Thank you," Stephen whispered.
Then Tokori suddenly kissed him. Stephen felt soft, warm lips. When the kiss deepened he tasted sweetness and spices.
He felt light headed. Wow! If this man had lived in his timeline, he would seriously fall in love with him.
Stephen stopped the kiss, but held Tokori's head, their foreheads touching.
"I'm sorry," Stephen said. "I'm so sorry." He knew he couldn't stay, as much as he wanted to. This was a beautiful place, with beautiful people. But it would be wrong to stay. For the people back home. For history. The anomaly had to open up again. So he could go back, without changing this timeline. If he already hadn't.
But at the same time he wanted to have this moment forever.
He felt a tingling sensation. Even though his eyes were closed he knew there was a bright light.
The anomaly was back.
He got up, with the help of Tokori.
"Goodbye," he whispered.
"Kwakwhay," Tokori said, touching Stephen's face a last time.
Then Stephen stepped through the lights.
On the other side he found Cutter, Connor, Abby and Ryan and his men.
"Where have you been?" Cutter asked, in his voice a mix of concern and inquisitiveness.
"Somewhere close to paradise," Stephen answered, while the anomaly closed behind him.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2014-09-23 01:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-24 07:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-23 01:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-24 07:37 am (UTC)Somehow he really fitted in there, didn't he. I think he would have been happy there.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-23 06:20 pm (UTC)I loved that Stephen became one of their legends.
And the last line was perfect.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-24 07:38 am (UTC)Let's hope he didn't change history (too much).
no subject
Date: 2014-09-23 07:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-24 07:39 am (UTC)I visited the site years ago and it had really intrigued me.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-24 01:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-24 07:39 am (UTC)I'm glad I finally managed to write it. :D
no subject
Date: 2014-09-24 07:47 am (UTC)Oh, that's lovely! We always knew that Stephen was legendary, now we have proof!
That's great how he interacted with the civilisation - I think I recall seeing pictures of that archaeological site and it is amazing - and he and they should have lovely memories of it.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-24 07:52 am (UTC)It's a great site. I visited it years ago. Of course you're not allowed near the cliff dwellings, but the surroundings are beautiful.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-24 07:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-25 01:23 pm (UTC)Thank you!
no subject
Date: 2014-09-24 09:22 pm (UTC)Oh fascinating - esp. the bit about Stephen's eyes. You inspired me to have a quick google and the Sinagua look really interesting. Your descriptions are very vivid.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-25 01:24 pm (UTC)I cheated a bit with the language Tokori used, because nobody knows what language the Sinagua used. So I used some Hopi :p
no subject
Date: 2014-09-25 06:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-25 01:25 pm (UTC)I'm glad the descriptions worked.
I visited the place years ago and I was fascinated by it.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-28 10:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-28 10:21 am (UTC)I was always fascinated by the Native Americans, especially as a kid.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-26 10:16 pm (UTC)